Rustic Extended Family Portrait Session

Rustic Extended Family Portrait Session

Ottawa and Gatineau Family Photographers

Today, I’m showing some photos from a rustic extended family portrait session that I shot almost two weeks ago. This family flew from other parts of Canada to spend some time together in the Outaouais area. I met them at a cabin in Alcove, QC where they were staying for a few days. It was a gorgeous place, surrounded by trees and fields. A bit off the beaten track. I love anything remotely rustic, so I was thrilled to see where I would be shooting when I arrived. It really was a perfect location for their rustic extended family portrait session.

A Few Hiccups

To say that we had some problems is an understatement. The odds were completely stacked against us for this family portrait session. Firstly, the weather was rainy all week long. And then the day of, it was dark and grey all morning and then raining into the afternoon. I texted my client at 7:30 am to see if we could move the time up to the morning before it began to rain. However, a couple of the family members had been suffering from food poisoning from the night before, so that was a no go. (Food poisoning is definitely a first for me when shooting a portrait session.) However, the next day the weather forecast was even worse. In sickness or health, these troopers got the job done and posed for my cameras.

Come Hell or High Water

Normally, I would have rescheduled the shoot to a different day. However, these guys were only here for a short time before they flew back home. The window of opportunity was extremely small, like no room to reschedule. So, I tried to get into the mindset to shoot this session like I would a wedding–the show must go on no matter what. However, when I shoot weddings, I always have another person working with me. But, when I shoot portraits, it’s just little ol’ me who shows up, which is fine for 99.99% of the time. This was the 0.01% time I needed another person.

What’s a girl to do when she’s in need of help? I literally begged my husband to come to the photo shoot with me. I needed to have someone hold an umbrella over me and my cameras in case it rained. And since it was an 80-90% chance of rain, I was desperate. Anyone who knows my husband knows that this is NOT his thing. He’s happy that I love what I do and watches our daughter when I go out on photo shoots. But by no means does he want to have ANYTHING to do with the actual machinations of my job in the field. In the end, he came toting our daughter with us. She was just excited to get out of the house and to see some other kids. I was beyond relieved and grateful that he came with me.

With a heart full of gratitude that everything worked out beautifully, I present to you their photos. 🙂

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If you’re looking for a family portrait photographer to shoot your family portraits, I would be thrilled to hear from you. Contact me today to book your portrait session. Check out more of my family portrait work: